“Wow. Where’d the time go?” Her eyes scanned the mess. “You want help cleaning this up?”
“Nah, I’m gonna keep at it for a while.” Frustration was beginning to take hold. He needed a break. He got up and stretched. “So where are you and lover boy off to?”
“Movies. Wanna come?”
“No.” When Ro laughed, he said, “What’s so funny?”
“We’re back at the beginning. You being a hermit and me being the envy of everyone in school. I like being queen of the hill but I’m not so sure that you’re in a better place.”
“I’m not a hermit. I sit with you at lunch.”
“Only occasionally, and you never talk.”
“But I pretend to listen. And that’s pretty good because I’d much rather be investigating homicidal scientists.”
She threw a pillow at him. When the doorbell rang, she said, “Tell lover boy that I’m freshening myself up and will be out in a minute.”
Ben opened the front door and JD came inside. He had on a leather bomber jacket that made his extra-wide chest extra extra wide. Ben managed a half-assed smile. “She’ll be out in a minute.”
“Right.”
They stared at each other, each one hoping the other would make the situation less tense. “Anything new?” JD finally asked.
“Nope.”
When Ro finally materialized, JD put a protective arm around her, squeezing her with a little too much enthusiasm. But she didn’t protest. “We’re off to the movies,” he said. “Wanna come with us?”
“I already asked,” Ro said.
“Thanks, but I’m fine.” Another strained smile. “See you guys tomorrow.”
JD said, “Give me a minute with him, Ro.” He gave her the keys to his car. “Warm yourself up.”
“Good idea. It’s freezing in here.” She broke away from JD and left.
JD said, “She’s right. Why do you keep the house so cold?”
“I’m hot-blooded. Have a good time.”
“Lisa’s gonna be there.”
Ever since they’d begun talking again, JD was constantly trying to pair Ben with Lisa. He’d known her since third grade. At one point, they had had mutual crushes on one another. He actually liked Lisa. She—like him—had experienced her portion of shit happens. But just because they had shared time and space didn’t mean they were a couple in this universe. “Say hi for me.”
“I told her you were coming.”
“But I’m not coming.”
“She said you took her to the movies. She said you had a great time.”
“I took her to the movies because she let me into the spring fling on a discount ticket. It was some stupid romantic comedy with magic elves. Does that sound like a good time to you?”
“We’re seeing Pantheon. It’s supposed to be a great movie.”
“You can give me a summary on Monday.”
“It’s two hours, Vicks—”
“I’m not coming—”
“Just bang her. She’s dying for it.”
“I’m not interested in banging her. I saw you banging her. It’s weird.”
“The girl’s not entitled to more than one bang in her lifetime?”
“She’s entitled to bang whomever she wants, just like I’m entitled to bang whomever I want. And I’m not interested in Lisa, okay?”
“What is wrong with you?”
This was going to go on forever unless he put a stop to it. Ben said, “I’m seeing someone.”
JD studied him. “That’s bullshit.”
“You know, I do go to a major university that’s around fifty percent women. And I do work at a major company that employs about fifty percent women. I’m kinda cute in that boyish way. So why is it bullshit?”
JD still didn’t believe him, but he played along. “Tell me about this phantom girl.”
“She’s not a phantom girl.” Ben kept it believable. “She works at Circuitchip. Her name is Katy Lu. She’s nineteen. Don’t tell Ro. She’ll interrogate me and I’m not interested in answering questions.”
“She’s Asian?”
“Yeah, she’s Asian. What’s wrong with Asians?”
“Nothing. I like Asian women. Except they have small racks. How’s her rack?”
“She’s Asian. It’s small.”
“Yeah, you can’t get it all, right? Sure you don’t want to come? Lisa has a big rack.” He punched Ben’s shoulder a little too hard. “It’ll be a nice change of pace.”
Ben pointed to the door. “You can leave now.”
“When do I get to meet Katy Lu who probably doesn’t exist?”
“When I trust you to not fuck my girlfriends.” Again Ben pointed to the door. “Go.”
But JD still didn’t go. He said, “It’s cool that we’re, like, talking again.”
That was JD. One minute he was choking you to death, the next minute he was sloppily sentimental. “Yes, JD, we’re buds. Now could you please leave?”
Reluctantly, JD closed the door behind him. Out the window, Ben watched him strut his stuff down the sidewalk. He hated that Ro was with him, but he was glad to be alone. In the kitchen, he was pouring himself a glass of orange juice, trying to figure out his next move, when he heard a throat clear. He looked around. It took him a couple of seconds to spot the source.
Lilly had tucked herself into the corner of the living room, curled up in a ball on his dad’s chair. Her laptop was open and there were papers at her feet.
Ben gave her a look. “You’ve been eavesdropping on me?”
“I wasn’t eavesdropping, I was sitting here the whole time.” She wore a pout. “It’s not my fault that no one noticed.”
There was anger in her voice. He knew why. “Lilly, it’s just the way guys talk.”
“You mean guys talk racist?”
“What if I said that all Asian girls were smart, which is just as much a stereotype as their having small chests? Would that have been racist?”
“No, that would have been a generalization. Racism implies something negative, and by the way you two were talking, having a small rack was definitely something negative . . . like biology is under one’s control!”
Her lip was trembling. Ben knew she was deeply hurt. “You’re right. I’m sorry, Lilly.”
She didn’t answer.
“Where’s Haley?”
“She and Griffen went out to a movie.”
“You didn’t want to go?”
“Obviously not. I’m studying for the state math test and I’m tired of being a third wheel or fifth wheel or whatever.” Her eyes were pure smoke. “I can go home if my presence bothers you—”
“Lilly—”
“God forbid I should eavesdrop.”
“Stop it already. I apologized. Stop milking it.” He softened his tone. “It’s not true, by the way. I don’t have a girlfriend. I made her up to get JD off my back.”
“Why are you telling me?” She lifted up her chin in an act of defiance and glowered at him with wet eyes. “It’s not any of my business. And either you’re lying to JD or you’re lying to me. So either way, you’re still a liar.”
Ben knew she was mad—she had every reason to be mad—but he just wasn’t in the mood to hear it. “Stay as long as you want. You know you’re always welcome here.” He went to his room and closed the door. But instead of going back to the computer and an infinite list of names, Ben stretched out on his bed, trying to figure out the best way to deal with an ensuing headache. As expected, Lilly knocked a few minutes later. “It’s open.”